


Lionheart

by petrovasfire



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-09
Packaged: 2018-01-18 19:05:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1439470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petrovasfire/pseuds/petrovasfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Regina?” He only ever uses her name when he’s being dreadfully earnest; Regina has caught on thus far.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lionheart

She’s the only one left in the diner. The mug of hot chocolate she’s been staring deadpan at has gone cold since it arrived and she hasn't taken one sip. She can practically hear Ruby glare at her behind the counter. Regina’s holding her up; Ruby had had a long day and all she wants to do is sleep, but it’s 1.03 a.m. and Regina is still making wordless eye contact with her drink.

But Red Riding Hood knows better than to bark at the Evil Queen, so she makes do with the little cleaning that needs to be done. As soon she hears the door open, Ruby finally lets out an audible groan and is about to literally shoo the man out when she notices that it’s Robin Hood.

Ruby has amazing wolf senses, everybody knows that, and sometimes her senses extend so far as to pick up on the air around them; namely, the fervid tension between the queen and the thief earlier that day.

Robin lifts his hand as a meek attempt to wave and Ruby smiles back. He easily takes a seat across from Regina, and she finally looks up from her hot chocolate.

“Your Majesty,” he greets, letting his hands rest on the table.

“Robin,” she addresses back and, unable to resist, she adds, “of Locksley.”

He smirks and she smiles back deftly. They don’t say anything for a while. She continues to gaze back at her hot chocolate, and he watches her raptly. The more he looks at her, the curiouser he gets. There are endless stories written on her face; those that belong to the malicious Evil Queen, and those that are solely reserved for Regina Mills.

When she finally meets his eyes again, her lips slip into a warm smile. He eyes the drink; a thick, brown liquid that looks an awful lot like mire.

“May I?” he asks, gesturing to the hot chocolate.

“Go right ahead,” Regina says, shrugging. “It’s cold, though, so it probably doesn’t taste that good.”

“What is this savour?” Robin’s already gulped half the mug by then.

“Chocolate. It’s supposed to make your worries go away.” She’s echoing a line that Henry once said to her; when she’d first introduced him to chocolate, he couldn't get enough of it. “My son told me that once.”

Regina averts her eyes and glances at the floor. Robin sets the mug down and slides his hands further down the table. Their fingers would be skimming across one another if not for their gloves.

“Regina?” He only ever uses her name when he’s being dreadfully earnest; Regina has caught on thus far.

“It’s all right,” she says, brushing it off with a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Regina,” he says again, and she sees her faltering smile mirrored on his lips. “Why are you really at Granny’s tonight?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Regina concedes after a sigh. “Something’s… off. And no, it’s nothing to do with the bitch.”

“The witch?”

“Yes, that’s what I said, wasn’t it?”

A simper plays at his lips, and it’s parallel to hers. Ever since the letter; the brief yet long-lived moment in the woods when she’d entrusted him with the task of hiding her heart, their acquaintance has evolved into a kind of understanding. They can quickly grasp what the other is thinking and know exactly how to ward off any edginess. Even though she’s fully aware of the role he supposedly plays—or at least, what Tinker Bell is convinced of—in her life, she’s still surprised at how effortlessly comfortable she can feel around the thief.

“Perhaps your chest feels hollow.” His hands sidle across the table so far their fingers are beyond brushing. “Perhaps there’s something missing.”

“Like what?” Regina feels her throat condense as she glances down at her hands cocooned in his.

“Love,” Robin says smoothly. He is holding nothing back, and Regina realises that if she’d had her heart where it's supposed to be, she would probably feel it clobbering against her chest.

“Well, I would if I had—”

He swiftly produces a familiar-looking pouch and places it in between them. She knows exactly what’s inside, and she almost immediately reaches for it. She stops her shaky fingers and fiddles with them instead.

“Robin…”

“Something tells me that you need your heart,” he says quietly, placing his hand on top of the pouch and sweeping it gently towards her, and she covers his hand with her palm. “At least for tonight.”

“But—”

“Don't worry, Your Majesty," he reassures her with a grin. "I’ll come by and steal it under your nose first thing in the morning."

He already has, but Regina doesn't admit it.

Not out loud, anyway.

Over his keen knuckles and inside the pouch, Regina swears she feels her heart beat somewhat faster.


End file.
